Phone
Smart phones based on China Mobiles operating system, which uses Google Inc.s Android technology, will be introduced “soon,” Wang told reporters in Hong Kong today. Lenovo Mobile Communication Technology Ltd. is also among handset vendors working on the devices, he said.
China Mobile today posted its first profit decline since 1999 as the company added fewer customers after a state-led revamp of the worlds biggest phone market stiffened competition. The carrier aims to offer consumers a wider range of handsets to boost demand for its third-generation service, which accounts for less than 1 percent of its subscriber base.
“Of course we want to grow our 3G business as much as possible, but that depends on various factors, including the availability of handsets,” Wang said at a briefing to announce the companys earnings.
The development of China Mobiles operating system, called Open Mobile System, wont stop the Beijing-based company from supporting other technologies including Symbian and Microsoft Corp.s Windows Mobile, Wang said.
Dell, the worlds second-biggest maker of personal computers, is developing a smart phone for China Mobile, Jess Blackburn, a Dell spokesman, said on Aug. 17. He declined to provide more details or say when the device will be introduced.
HTC, based in Taoyuan, Taiwan, is the biggest maker of mobile phones using Microsofts Windows operating system. Lenovo Mobile is owned by a group controlled by Legend Holdings Ltd., the biggest shareholder of Lenovo Group Ltd., Chinas biggest PC maker.
Profit Decline
Second-quarter net income fell 1.6 percent to 30.1 billion yuan ($4.4 billion), according to figures Bloomberg derived from first-half earnings reported by China Mobile today. That was the first profit decline since the company reported a 30 percent slump in full-year profit in 1999, according to Bloomberg data.
The carriers 3G service, which uses a Chinese mobile-phone standard, competes against high-speed networks offered by China Telecom Corp. and China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. that are based on international technologies.